Daliah Heller works in public policy and practice at the intersection of public health and criminal justice, with particular expertise on drugs and drug use. Over more than two decades, she has served in leadership and advisory positions in both the government and nonprofit sectors. As assistant commissioner at the New York City health department, she established the Bureau of Alcohol and Drug Use Prevention, Care, and Treatment. Heller holds a Ph.D. in Social Welfare from CUNY Graduate Center, MPH from Columbia University, and BA from McGill University.

Director of Drug Use Initiatives at Vital Strategies

Dr. Daliah Heller’s research interests include urban health policy, criminal justice, community-oriented healthcare, and drug use epidemiology and interventions. She is actively involved in policy analysis and research to promote criminal justice reform via healthcare innovation, and law enforcement diversion models for people who use drugs.

Director of Drug Use Initiatives at Vital Strategies

Dr. Daliah Heller’s research interests include urban health policy, criminal justice, community-oriented healthcare, and drug use epidemiology and interventions. She is actively involved in policy analysis and research to promote criminal justice reform via healthcare innovation, and law enforcement diversion models for people who use drugs.

Dr. Heller has served as Assistant Commissioner for the Bureau of Alcohol and Drug Use Prevention, Care, and Treatment, at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, and earlier, as the Director of Harm Reduction in the Department’s Bureau of HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control. Before joining government, she built and led one of the country’s leading harm reduction service organizations, based in the South Bronx.

Dr. Heller’s implementation science experience focuses on drug policy alignment and coordination across municipal government agencies, substance use services integration into general health care, and practice improvement for criminal justice responses to drug use. She is currently the Director of Drug Use Initiatives at Vital Strategies.

Tony Newman serves as Director of Communication for the Overdose Prevention Program at Vital Strategies, a major part of Michael Bloomberg's eponymous philanthropy making a $120 million investment to help fight fatal drug overdoses. Tony served for 19 years previously as Media Director for the Drug Policy Alliance. Discussion revolves around morals, drug war history and the obvious need for change as well as a strong focus on overdose prevention and harm reduction.